A Glimpse of Sheridan

Good Morning!

For my last post of the year, I'd like to sort of give all of you a little tour of Sheridan College. As soon as you enter campus, you are welcomed by a modern, bright and colourful environment. It is a place that really does fuel creativity. Even now as I walk the halls I am amazed by the unique architecture.

This is one of the main entrances of the school, or the "SKAET" building. I come through this entrance every day because of the close proximity to one of my classes (Media), and also Second Cup. I have become somewhat obsessed with getting my coffee there every day, because of the fact that I am not a huge fan of Tim Hortons. It helps that there is almost NEVER a line-up here so I can always grab my morning (or afternoon) coffee and make it to class on time. If you walk into this building you can pretty much have access to any classroom on campus through tunnels, which I have really enjoyed.

As you can see, the architecture really is cool. This is also inside the SKAET building, and to the right of the photo are classrooms. Many of the rooms on campus are great for group work, with what we call "puddle tables". Below is the caf, or also known as the Market Place. You will pretty much find yourself here every other day, whether it is to eat lunch or meet up with your group to finish up some extra work before class ;). The caf includes Subway, Thai Express, Pizza Pizza, Tim Horton's Express and more. 

The above photo is an outside glimpse of the J wing. I personally love this building because of its extra modern feel. The inside is open, colourful and bright. This semester the post grads had Advertising Planning Management and Integrated Marketing Communications here. The rooms are very spacious and again, great for presentations and group work. 

The Union Square, which you can kind of see at the bottom left corner of the last photo, is where the Marquee is located. This is a great place to grab some food after a long day of class, or celebrate with a beer with your classmates after a big week of work. The food is amazing, and the staff is friendly and provides great service. I strongly recommend trying it out! 

The above photo is part of the learning commons. This place is fantastic for group work, as puddle tables are everywhere! Each table also has a Sheridan computer to be used, which is great if you are in a mobile computing program. There are also study rooms located on both sides of the learning commons, where groups or individuals can work in a quite environment aside from the white noise. The library is also located nearby, so if you study best with no noise at all, I would suggest going there. Inside the library is probably one of my favourite parts about Sheridan. There are plants reaching all the way to the ceiling, actually making you feel like you are outside or in a rainforest. It has a calming effect which can be great for getting some work done. 

Last but not least, here is a little map of Sheridan College for you. If I am being honest, I had little idea where I was going and it kind of felt like a maze on the first day. But you will get used to it! My advice is to enter through the SKAET building first, to avoid confusion. A map is also located like this one as soon as you walk in. 

I hope you've enjoyed this (very) small tour of Sheridan College. There is so much more to discover when you get here, and I assure you you will be glad that you came. 

Sincerely, 

Ashleigh

Essential Tips

Hi there!

As the year is coming to an end, I’d like to take this time to give some general advice to you based on my overall experience with the program and the college itself. Through my amazing learning experience there are a few things that I'd like to share in regards to what made my experience the way it was.

So here it goes!

Coming from Sault Ste. Marie and about an 8 hour drive at the beginning of September, I was pretty nervous about starting school in a new city. But the great thing about Sheridan College is how welcoming its faculty staff and students are. A few days before school actually starts, an orientation is held for new students. For me, I honestly wasn’t sure if I was up for an orientation after such a long drive from home, however I am so happy I decided to follow through.  I strongly recommend this orientation to future students because it is an opportunity to meet not only everyone in your program,

but faculty members, and students from other programs. For Advertising Account Management, us 15 students met in a classroom with the program coordinator, Peggy Barnwell. She gave us a welcoming and enthusiastic introduction not only about the program, but the advertising industry as a whole. She helped us open our eyes into what field we were about to dive into. She also gave us our schedule and a good idea of what our goals will be throughout the entire year. Combined with honesty and knowledge, her introduction made me extremely excited to start this post graduate journey. Meeting the students was also great because we were able to get to know each other a little bit before starting our classes the next week. Please don’t miss out on this opportunity before beginning the Advertising Account Management Program in the Fall!

I would also like to talk to you about time management. Throughout the year, you will be thrown a large amount of tests, assignments and presentations that will definitely get stressful. It is important to always take a deep breathe, list your duties by priority, and ultimately take it one step at at time. I found myself going through waves of stress because I was looking at all obligations as a whole, instead of actually starting to tackle each task one at a time. However during second semester I changed my outlook on assignments and really tried to manage my time in a way that caused less stress in the future. If I could give one piece of advice it would be to stop worrying, and start doing. We cause ourselves so much anxiety and stress from just the thought of having so much due. My group and I have meshed really well together during these times of stress because despite the fact that we knew so much was due, we tried our best to get each task done well instead of quickly. 

What I also found extremely beneficial during my time at Sheridan was the availability of teachers to meet with. If any students have issues with homework, assignments, tests or just general inquiries about class or the industry in general, our teachers and faculty are available to talk at virtually any time. This is of course possible through email, but each of our teachers have extended office hours at the school that we can utilize for in person conversation. Meeting with your teachers, especially for assignments, is great because they can assure you that you are on the right track. If you're not, they will put you in the right direction which will help you achieve your goals. What I also loved was that the teachers themselves would schedule meetings with us to make sure we are doing well with our group assignments. Our group and the teacher would discuss campaign directions and ideas and eventually come to several decisions to move forward. Please take advantage of these meetings and never be afraid to ask for help in this program. 

If you take a few of these tips into consideration, I think you'll have the best possible experience here at Sheridan College! 

Sincerely,

Ashleigh

Advertising Sales

Hi Everyone!

Well, it’s that time of the year again. I truly can’t believe that there is less than a month left of the Advertising Account Management program. I have to admit that out of all my years of schooling, this is the year that has gone by the fastest. I hate to say the “time flies when you’re having fun” phrase, but it’s kind of true. This program has been extremely rewarding and has only confirmed and increased my interest in advertising.

One area of advertising that a lot of you may or may not be considering, is sales. This isn’t just retail sales, but advertising sales in particular. As you may have seen me mention in my previous posts, Professional Advertising Sales Practice is a course that we have all taken during second semester. The majority of the course has been based on learning about different client personalities and how to effectively present and sell yourselves. Additionally, we learned about what it means to create and maintain effective and meaningful relationships with potential clients. What I loved most about this course was that we were able to put this theory into real practice. In partnership with the Oakville Beaver, we had the opportunity to sell advertising to various businesses that will be contained in a Sheridan College insert at the end of this coming year.

We were all broken into groups, and assigned sales representatives that would provide us with different lists of clients that we were required to call for potential sales. With that we had to develop potential prospects (other businesses that could advertise in the insert) of our own. Not only was it pretty frightening, but realistic because we were being exposed to how sales people interact with clients, whether it is in a positive or negative way. With most of the groups including my own, some clients were indeed interested in the sale, however many were not, and this was somewhat discouraging. With that being said, you tend to learn not to take things personally. Sometimes you can even learn from those negative experiences with clients by thinking about what you can do better. Or simply accepting the experience as what it is – the business wasn’t interested for reasons that were beyond your control. Moral of the story is, continue trying your best, be friendly and always ensure that you are offering a potential client the best, and let them know what you can do for them. Eventually, and with more practice, you will experience that first sale, and I must say it feels pretty great. Incentives are also a plus, and the top 3 groups in our class with the most sales were given great prizes, such as Leaf/Raptor tickets as well as gift cards.

While sales may not be my area of choice for my career, I know that I have gained practical life skills that will help me in the future. Building relationships in the workplace is extremely important and is a skill that is useful in every day life. I encourage you all to go into an assignment like this with an open mind, be confident, and to ultimately never give up.

I hope this post was helpful :)

Sincerely, 

Ashleigh

The Interview

Hey everyone!

I'm posting this morning from Sault Ste. Marie, my hometown, and it is blowing snow. I really shouldn't have expected much less. Why am I not in Oakville? It's reading week at Sheridan College and finally time for a little bit of a break. We've had such a busy week with assignments, tests and meetings that we all will enjoy the time off to catch up and take a breath. For some great advice about time management, check out another student, Alexandra Marinaccio's, blog post this week!

What I forgot to mention about this busy week is that I had my first big interview with an advertising agency! I had been looking forward to that day ever since they asked me to come in after a phone interview. Built up with nerves and excitement I finally met with two account supervisors (both of which were extremely genuine and easy to talk to) at the agency and began the interview. What I was really happy about was that it was much less formal than the interviews that I had previously experienced. It felt more like a pleasant conversation than a structured interview.

What questions were asked? Well, at an interview it is not unlikely that they will ask "So, tell us a little bit about yourself". This does not necessarily mean that you are professing your admirable qualities one after the other. They want to know a little bit about you as a person, perhaps where you're from, how you got there, where you went to school, etc. Your background is part of what builds character, and interviewers want to make sure that you would be a good fit for their company. Perhaps they will even make a connection or have similarities to where you grew up or where you did your undergrad! This will always spark a little extra conversation, and that is always a plus. You will also be asked about how you got interested in advertising. Always have a detailed and enthusiastic answer to this question. This shouldn't be too hard if you love the Sheridan Advertising Account Management program like I do. However, I explained how my interest came straight from high school (I mention this in my first blog post!). It gives the interview more substance and believe it or not, will set you apart from every other applicant.

The other piece of advice that I will give you is to always have done your research about whatever company you are being interviewed by. No matter what type of interview it is, formal or not, the question that will always come up is, "So what got you interested in our company? What is your favourite ad that we've done?". Nothing would be more embarrassing if you couldn't answer either question. I am assuming that this advice will come to you as common sense, and that's what is so great about interviews. We all get so nervous and sometimes even unable to speak, but the reality is whoever is interviewing us are just PEOPLE. They are not monsters who are out to make you feel embarrassed or hurt you. They simply want to get to know you regarding things that may not be on your resume. If you are genuine, interested, passionate and an overall good person, that will shine through to your potential employers and you will have an equal, if not better, chance at landing the job. What I will say, is to not get discouraged if you do not get the job. A lot of the times, each and every applicant will have done just as well as you, and it all comes down to who is a better fit for the company. You will never know what exactly made them pick someone else over you, and you cannot feel down about yourself for this. I am currently waiting on that email or phone call stating whether or not I got the internship, and although I believe it went really well, there is the same chance that someone else made a better connection.

I didn't want to use this post to tell you every single question an ad agency will ask you, because I would assume that all of you have heard them all. The hypothetical conflict question, the "weaknesses" question (which they did not ask me), and the simple question asking you to outline your strengths. The truth is, every interview will be different. All you can do is go to the interview enthusiastic, kind, and extremely interested in the job position. Be prepared to be confident in who you are and to show your skill levels in an interesting way. Communication skills is key, and remember that they are just people, nothing different than speaking to say, your parents friends or a teacher/colleague. It will require professionalism of course, but like I said, they aren't aliens from another planet and only want to find a suitable person for the job position. Oh, and never mention interest in another company directly, only interest in the whole field in general.

I was lucky enough, to like I said, have a slightly informal interview. It was of longer length, say 45-50 minutes, but it felt more of like a deep and detailed conversation with some very smart and experienced individuals. It was extremely informative and only increased my interest in this fast paced industry! My last piece of advice is to ASK QUESTIONS. There is nothing that shows your interest in the company and position quite like asking questions does. It tells the interviewers that you want to know more. Ask them about what the job position entails, what will your duties be, etc. Ask them what makes a successful intern. In general, anything you are curious about in regards to the company and its work environment will not only give you a feel for what the company will be like to work for, it will show that you are truly invested and serious about working there.

So, when it comes to the time were you have some interviews lined up, keep these few points in mind (from my perspective!)

1. Do your research
2. Tell them about yourself (where you're from, your education, interests etc).
3. Be confident, INTERESTED, professional, genuine and enthusiastic.
4. Ask questions

I hope this helps everyone! I will also tell you that attending Sheridan College has allowed me to gain essential interview and communication skills in a way that increased my confidence immensely. So don't worry too much, and always think of an interview as a (professional)conversation more or less :)

Thanks for reading this week.

Sincerely,

Ashleigh